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Launched March 20th 2003 by President George Bush under the since debunked accusation of WMD possession (violating a 1991 treaty), a multinational"Coalition of the Willing" invaded Iraq. Despite wide criticism of the supporting intelligence and lacking evidence from United Nations weaponsinspectors, the invasion of Iraq quickly dissipated the Iraqi army and government, culminating with the capture (and subsequent execution) of former leaderSaddam Hussein.
George Bush announces Iraq invasion: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bkOCIfNQXP0&feature=relatedhttp://youtube.com/watch?...OCIfNQXP0&feature=related
Saddam 'caught like rat in a hole' CNN 2003 article: http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/14/sprj.irq.saddam.operation/index.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2003/W...ddam.operation/index.html
U.S. officials have suggested other reasons for invasions such as bringing democracy to Iraq, addressing human rights crimes under Hussein, and securingIraq's oil fields. The Iraq Study Group's report concluded that Iraq had ended WMD programs in 1991, and the discovery of degrading equipment confirmedthis.
Wolfowitz confesses Iraq war was for oil http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/aboutoil.htmhttp://www.whatreallyhappened.com/aboutoil.htm
Iraq Study Group downloadable PDF http://www.usip.org/isg/iraq_study_group_report/report/1206/iraq_study_group_report.pdfhttp://www.usip.org/isg/i...aq_study_group_report.pdf
The ensuing five years of American occupation have been defined by violence against coalition forces, the Iraqi insurgency, al-Qaeda operations in Iraq, andregional violence in what many have deemed a civil war between various Shia and Sunni Muslim groups.Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
George Bush announces Iraq invasion: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bkOCIfNQXP0&feature=relatedhttp://youtube.com/watch?...OCIfNQXP0&feature=related
Saddam 'caught like rat in a hole' CNN 2003 article: http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/14/sprj.irq.saddam.operation/index.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2003/W...ddam.operation/index.html
U.S. officials have suggested other reasons for invasions such as bringing democracy to Iraq, addressing human rights crimes under Hussein, and securingIraq's oil fields. The Iraq Study Group's report concluded that Iraq had ended WMD programs in 1991, and the discovery of degrading equipment confirmedthis.
Wolfowitz confesses Iraq war was for oil http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/aboutoil.htmhttp://www.whatreallyhappened.com/aboutoil.htm
Iraq Study Group downloadable PDF http://www.usip.org/isg/iraq_study_group_report/report/1206/iraq_study_group_report.pdfhttp://www.usip.org/isg/i...aq_study_group_report.pdf
The ensuing five years of American occupation have been defined by violence against coalition forces, the Iraqi insurgency, al-Qaeda operations in Iraq, andregional violence in what many have deemed a civil war between various Shia and Sunni Muslim groups.Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
Q Mr. Secretary, can we just ask you about the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, which has been released? And according to a section of that, it says that the term "civil war" accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict. And the administration and this department has resisted that definition before, just as it also resisted saying there was an insurgency in Iraq. I guess the question is, do you now accept that there is a civil war in Iraq or are you going to be behind the curve on that?
SEC. GATES (?): Too? (Laughter.)
Q (Off mike.)
SEC. GATES: First of all, I received the estimate this morning and have not read it. I'll invite the chairman to comment.
What I have said in my testimony is that I think that the words "civil war" oversimplify a very complex situation in Iraq. I believe that there are essentially four wars going on in Iraq.
One is Shi'a on Shi'a, principally in the south; the second is sectarian conflict, principally in Baghdad, but not solely; third is the insurgency; and fourth is al Qaeda, and al Qaeda is attacking, at times, all of those targets.
So I think I just -- you know, I -- it's not, I think, just a matter of politics or semantics. I think it oversimplifies it. It's a bumper sticker answer to what's going on in Iraq.
http://www.defenselink.mil/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=3879http://www.defenselink.mi...pt.aspx?TranscriptID=3879
To date there have been 3,993 American casualties, 176 UK, and 29,133 coalition wounded. The American military has estimated there have been 10,800 Iraqicombatants dead, 21,905 insurgents dead, with 23,000 individuals being detained by the American military and 37,000 by the Iraqi Security Forces.
USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-09-26-insurgents_N.htmhttp://www.usatoday.com/n...07-09-26-insurgents_N.htm
The financial cost of the war has been over $845 Billion to the U.S. with a total cost to the economy of $5 Trillion. http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2921527420080302?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&sp=truehttp://www.reuters.com/ar...&feedName=topNews&sp=true
Much of 2003 and 2004 were spent in combat against Iraqi militia insurgent forces and former Baathists, leading Bush to declare his "MissionAccomplished" speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln. His mention of a "Sunni Triangle" alluded to the brewing eruption of religious sectarianviolence reacting to the creation of the Iraqi government in the 2005 democratic elections. The number of violent attacks from Muslim insurgent groupsincreased from 26,496 in 2004 to 34,143 incidents in 2005.
Mission Accomplished speech http://youtube.com/watch?v=-GJUGUYsm68
The post-invasion period has been marked by a stuggle to combat guerilla tactics such as suicide bombings, improvised explosive devices, grenades and mortars,and small arms fire. Increased Shia v. Sunni tension increased with the al-Askari Mosque (one of the holiest sites in Shi'a Islam) bombing in 2006, leadingto retaliation attacks. The deadliest day of the war was in 2006 at Shiite Sadyr City by five car bombings and two mortar rounds killing at least 215 people.Shiites retaliated by bombing the Abu Hanifa mosque (the most important Sunni Mosque in Baghdad) and set fire to several Sunni Muslim schools andneighborhoods. The situation has obviously spun beyond the United States' control as a John Hopkins Study in 2006 concluded that out of the more than600,000 deaths in Iraq, less than 1/3 were from Coalition forces.
John Hopkins http://www.jhsph.edu/publichealthnews/press_releases/2006/burnham_iraq_2006.htmlhttp://www.jhsph.edu/publ...06/burnham_iraq_2006.html
The 2005 Iraq Rules of Engagement leaked by wikileaks.org provides insight into the financial expenditures of the United States and sophisication of weaponryutilized.
2005 ROE PDF http://wikileaks.cx/leak/us-iraq-rules-of-engagement.pdf.http://wikileaks.cx/leak/...-rules-of-engagement.pdf.
The injustices this war has caused, epitomized by the Guantanamo Bay torture, has destabilized Iraq and caused an egregious loss of life. As the anniversary ofthe invasion and occupation of Iraq comes up on Wednesday, whether you're out protesting in the streets of your city, or debating in yours schools, homes,or on NikeTalk please remember the people who are dying everyday from this war. Not just Americans, but all humans. Even the ones our government calls"terrorist."
